tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-166598502019-01-21T16:04:09.160-06:00 Learning Curve on the EclipticOn art, music, books, movies, politics, life - sometimes with astrology thrown in. Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.comBlogger3618125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-45301932698777277652019-01-21T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-21T00:00:06.075-06:00Music Monday ~ ChampionsFor the next few weeks an America's Got Talent spin-off (or sequel) of the original show - with the words "The Champions" added to the title, will be airing. Each week, past winners or runners-up of AGT proper, along with winners from "......Got Talent" in other countries (for example, Spain, Russia) will compete to discover who is "Champion of Champions". Voting isn't being done by viewersTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-56155721751450132352019-01-19T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-19T12:36:24.400-06:00Saturday & Sundry Thoughts ~Would-be Presidential Ladies: Tulsi Gabbard, Elizabeth Warren & Kirsten GillibrandIt's early days to be blogging about the USA's presidential election in November 2020, nevertheless I've been interested to read recently of three potential candidates from the Democrats - three ladies who appear to be preparing to throw their hats into the ring, hoping to be part of what's likely to be a crowded platform of candidates. These are: Tulsi Gabbard, who supported my guy, Bernie Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-88324301671332449962019-01-18T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-18T00:00:03.553-06:00Arty Farty Friday ~ Bits & Pieces
Book Lover Arranges Her Huge Library of Novels Into Imaginative Scenes
piece by Emma Taggart, arty fartiness by Elizabeth Sagan.
All book lovers will know that a great story can spark your imagination and transport you to another world. However, rather than keep each fictional story in the confines of their pages, self-described “bookstagrammer” Elizabeth Sagan pays homage to her love of Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-89293215036404284492019-01-15T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-15T00:00:14.291-06:00Midweek Meander Around the Issue of 'Othering'. I experienced some synchronicity a few days ago. Synchronicity was once explained by Carl Jung as being “meaningful coincidence”. A Quora friend had recommended to a questioner a very good piece by John Powell, from The Guardian:
Us vs them: the sinister techniques of ‘Othering’ – and how to avoid them.
I decided to read the piece. 'Othering' wasn't part of my everyday vocabulary. Snips Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-40144367971132583662019-01-14T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-14T00:00:13.976-06:00Music Monday ~ Three Musical Birthdays
I notice that three singers whose voices I'm always glad to hear were born this day, 14 January: Billie Jo Spears, Jack Jones, and Allen Toussaint. They are all of my own generation, born in either 1937 or 1938. Ms Spears died in 2011 and Mr Toussaint in 2015. As far as I know, Jack Jones is still oing strong. I was born in 1939 - amazingly I am still here too, albeit creaking a little around Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-83285192796558415672019-01-12T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-12T00:00:07.170-06:00Saturday & Sundry Memories: Mysteries in S.W. USA.Mention of UFO sightings in a bunch of predictions by a "time traveller", featured in my post dated 2 January 2019 set my mind back almost five years, to a post I wrote in February 2014. I enjoyed re-reading that post myself (inner narcissist coming out) so shall re-air it, lightly edited, for the weekend.
Back in 2014, we had recently watched an "indie" movie on DVD: The Wicksboro Incident.Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-63252017497855208882019-01-11T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-11T00:00:07.515-06:00Arty Farty Friday Rabbit-hole (ending on a rainy day in Spain.)
The search for a painter born around this time of year, with fascinating background or life story brought little of interest. My yawns caused me to stumble down an internet rabbit-hole while skimming through the biography of 17th century French painter Jean-Baptiste van Loo (14 January 1684 – 19 December 1745).
One of van Loo's best known paintings is shown in the small image below:
"Triumph Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-35080373319631994762019-01-08T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-08T00:00:00.584-06:00Midweek Mealtime ~ Italian Restaurants - Red Flags.Music Monday and Arty Farty Friday have been around this blog for years; along those lines: a Midweek Mealtime, a Tuesday Taste Test, or a Wednesday Whatever? The first title covers more than 24 hours - I shall go with that one!
What are some red flags you're at a bad Italian restaurant?
A question asked at Quora. I've picked out, below, a few points from several answers, illustration addedTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-52331002934022928982019-01-07T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-07T00:00:10.485-06:00 MUSIC MONDAY
What have I heard, seen, done during the past week or so that had some musical connection? On New Year's Eve we watched two separate chunks of films on TCM channel, "That's Entertainment # I", and "That's Entertainment # III" - book-ending our other movie viewing that evening, until it was time to raise a glass to 2019. Those shows are such good value - patchworks of old musical movies of Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-4348172424040721822019-01-05T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-05T00:00:05.448-06:00For the Weekend:"...the American id in its underpants"
I Was A Cable Guy. I Saw The Worst Of America. By Lauren Hough.
A glimpse of the suburban grotesque, featuring Russian mobsters, Fox News rage addicts, a caged man in a sex dungeon, and Dick Cheney.
I heartily recommend reading this, quite long, piece. the writer has an engaging style, it even got past my Attention Deficit Disorder, brought on by too much internet.
When I first read the titleTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-31229824707244048152019-01-04T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-04T00:00:08.869-06:00Arty Farty Friday ~ The Strange Worlds of Yves TanguyYves Tanguy was born in Paris in 1900, son of a retired sea captain. Yves was said to be a very quiet, yet at the same time, anarchistic man. Allegedly, after having visited a an exhibition of the surrealist art of Giorgio de Chirico he spontaneously decided to become a painter, and gravitated naturally to his own version of the surrealist style, more or less untaught.
It's believed that Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-15815909602654421912019-01-02T00:00:00.000-06:002019-01-02T00:00:01.560-06:00 The Future: "like the present only longer"Wikipedia tells that: January (in Latin, Ianuarius) is named after the Latin word for door (ianua), since January is the door to the year and an opening to new beginnings. The month is conventionally thought of as being named after Janus, the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology, but according to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity [guardian, protector, Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-39126732167939513032018-12-31T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-31T00:00:16.657-06:00Music Monday/Tuesday Mix at New Year Here comes another one!
On New Year's Eve this song might be a good fit for some of us:
Pick yourself up...
Take a deep breath...
Dust yourself off
And start all over again.
Nothing's impossible, I have found
For when my chin is on the ground.
I pick myself up,
Dust myself off
And start all over again.
"And ye, who have met with Adversity's blast,
And been bow'd to the earth by its furyTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-91350443259032790792018-12-29T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-29T00:00:15.699-06:00Saturday and Sundry Shank o' the Year Bits & Bobs Beginning with an update to my Christmas post - a new family gathering photograph from Monday evening. There are a couple of absentees due to distance, but most are there, somewhere. Your friendly neighbourhood blogger's head is the white haired one peeking around back mid-photo. Anyjazz, said blogger's husband is far left, after running back to group having prepared camera to do its stuff Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-13599280298230942602018-12-28T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-28T00:01:29.848-06:00Arty Farty Friday ~ Giovanni Boldini, "Master of Swish"
Self portrait
One needs only to see a couple of portraits by Giovanni Boldini (31 December 1842 - 11 July 1931) to be able to recognise others - his style is striking and individualistic. He was known in some circles as the "Master of Swish".
Snip from article at Daily Art Magazine: also at that website are some large format images of his portraits, well worth a look.
Boldini must Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-11974227342513589032018-12-26T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-26T00:00:04.924-06:00Laws of the Wild.One definition of law is that it is a system of rules and guidelines enforced through social institutions to govern behaviour. There are certain natural laws too, whose governing body appears to be human nature in the wild - or maybe "fate". These laws and rules happen automatically, we don't need to strive not to fall foul of them, most will automatically fall foul of us, and frequently.
Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-7648350362513994982018-12-23T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-23T00:00:06.589-06:00 The Circle of Life and of Christmases
The Christmas wreath signifies or symbolises different things to different people. For me the wreath symbolises the turning of the year, as does the zodiac circle.
Some ten years ago I wrote a Christmas-time post on such a theme - it's time for another look, slightly updated.
Looking back over the years - and I have lots to look back over - Christmas stands as a kind of milepost. It'sTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-10977094405072886902018-12-21T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-21T00:00:09.937-06:00Arty Farty Solstice Friday ~ Masaccio
Masaccio, Painted by Himself, Lately Added to the National Gallery
The painter I'd decided to to feature this week was born this day,
December 21 in 1401, in a town close to Florence, Italy. The artist died aged 26, which could account for lack of more colourful information than the mostly fact-based and rather stodgy stuff I found at first. Then I found this lighter, yet still Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-47165046850570487032018-12-18T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-18T00:00:07.883-06:00Stories of that Star of WonderDuring the run-up to Christmas, some years ago, I posted about the Star of Bethlehem story, which has always been something of a mystery to astronomers and astrologers alike. A then regular commenter and blog friend, "mike" related an alternative version of the Star's story. Commenter "mike" became ill, later on and had to cease commenting. I fear for the conclusion of his story. In memory Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-1448038360281861142018-12-17T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-17T00:00:00.948-06:00Music Monday ~ OtherworldlyThese first sounds are not exactly musical, but they are, literally, otherworldy because they came from Mars.
Scroll down to the sound clip in this interesting article:
Listen to the soothing sounds of Martian wind collected by NASA’s InSight lander
Now...here's one of my own favourite otherworldly musical pieces, this by Mike Oldfield. As we head towards Winter Solstice, the title isTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-78862371878604272762018-12-15T00:06:00.000-06:002018-12-15T00:07:03.456-06:00Time Travelling with Ian LangIf you have a Time Machine would you use it or not? Why?
A question asked at Quora this week, with an answer from the inimitable
Ian Lang, "Forced to do relativity at school, college and polytechnic.Still don't know much."
[Used with Mr Lang's kind (blanket) permission.]
I have got a time machine. I started building it negative three years ago, in 2021, and sent it back to myself last year. InTwilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-40193087300413996352018-12-14T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-14T00:00:10.813-06:00Arty Farty Friday ~ Singerie
Monkeys Drinking & Smoking by David Teniers the Younger
While searching for a painter born around this time of year, I happened upon a term new to me - the learning curve is never-ending!
Reading a little about 15th century Flemish painter, David Teniers the Younger
(15 December 1610-
25 April 1690) I came across the word 'singerie'. Had to look it up.
From
https://Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-21477433098507498812018-12-11T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-11T00:00:11.157-06:00 Perceiving Christmas Through Its Wrapping
To perceive Christmas through its wrapping becomes more difficult with every year.
~E.B. White, "The Distant Music of the Hounds". At this time of year, when we receive a greetings card with illustration of a nativity scene, I remember a dear old boss of mine -my first ever boss, Mr H. He'd say, tongue firmly in cheek, if we received such a greetings card in the office, "Oh my, they've even Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-55292262437593709822018-12-10T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-10T00:00:36.220-06:00Music Monday ~ Controversially Cold Outside I guess Frank Loesser would be horrified if he knew the controversy his award winning song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is causing on the internet these days.
Wikipedia:
Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944. It is a call and response duet in which a host, usually performed by a male voice, tries to convince a guest, usually performed by a female voice, that Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16659850.post-76175324512001746922018-12-08T00:00:00.000-06:002018-12-08T00:00:13.065-06:00Brexit the Bastard MonsterThe Brexit saga continues, a not-so-mini drama series that I had never expected to see! I've been away from the UK for more than 14 years now, so can't fully appreciate how things must have changed in that relatively short time. I follow Brexit news daily, out of self interest and general concern about my native land. Self interest, because my two pensions come from the UK. The vagaries of Twilighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14138621610593773784noreply@blogger.com6